Standing among the many ranks of Mario, Master Chief, Sonic, and Link, Lara Croft is one of essentially the most iconic online game characters ever to grace our screens. The globe-trotting archaeologist has starred in quite a few video video games since 1996 and has been dropped at life by two Oscar-winning actresses, Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander, in three live-action movies. The Tomb Raider franchise has been a staple of popular culture for shut to 3 many years, however the 2013 reboot, merely titled Tomb Raider, introduced a complete new model of status, chronicling Lara’s origins. This was adopted by two sequels, Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018, in a trio of video games now often known as the “Survivor Trilogy.”

Since then, the franchise has stayed comparatively quiet within the realm of video video games, with a brand new recreation at present in growth and a live-action collection within the works from Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Amazon. First introduced in 2021, the animated collection Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, goals to bridge the hole between the Survivor Trilogy and the long run of the franchise, with Hayley Atwell voicing the English adventurer.

What Is ‘Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft’ About?

The Legend of Lara Croft picks up shortly after the occasions of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, with the titular character nonetheless being haunted by nightmares in regards to the deaths of her family members, together with Conrad Roth (Nolan North). Lara has by no means been one to sit down round and wait, that means it has been a battle within the weeks main as much as her pal Jonah’s (Earl Baylon) marriage ceremony. Lara’s itch for journey is lastly scratched when a mysterious artifact is stolen from her house, with the thief, Charles Devereaux (Richard Armitage), holding a shocking connection to Roth and Lara’s father.

Hoping to lastly set issues proper, Lara drags Jonah alongside as they enterprise to China, as they study extra in regards to the mysterious artifact that has been taken, a Peril Stone, which has sturdy ties to Chinese legend and holds a harmful supernatural energy that might deliver the top of the world. Over the course of the collection, we see Lara evolve from the character that she was within the earlier three video games to the extra skilled and expert adventurer that made her a legend, each in her world and in our world.

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‘The Legend of Lara Croft’ Finds Its Way After a Rough Start

Outside of a gap dream sequence, the primary episode primarily follows Lara’s life in England. While the collection clearly has to set the stage for Lara’s subsequent mission, it does take a bit to get going. It’s not dangerous essentially, however Lara Croft’s arc has at all times been way more thrilling once we see her get thrust into one other journey, not sulking round her mansion. As talked about earlier than, the collection serves as a direct sequel to the “Survivor Trilogy,” which all started with Lara already within the early days of her subsequent quest.

A online game and a tv collection are clearly two very completely different mediums, however one of the advantages of this collection being animated is that the inventive workforce does not have to fret an excessive amount of about how costly it could be to have the character journey internationally to harmful places. Lara’s mansion simply does not maintain the identical quantity of intrigue as an unexplored tomb or an unpredictable rainforest.

Thankfully, the collection picks up within the following seven episodes and by no means slows down. While this collection does function a prologue for the subsequent installment within the online game franchise, it does not really feel the necessity to decrease the stakes of Lara’s newest mission. The scope has by no means felt higher than it does in The Legend of Lara Croft. The collection finds a approach to ship a sprawling journey story whereas additionally diving into extra of Lara’s backstory in fascinating methods.

The Legend of Lara Croft could have initially been introduced as a “Netflix Anime,” however the animation was really accomplished by a studio in Texas; whereas it’s influenced by the Japanese artwork fashion, the title is extraordinarily becoming. The animation feels easy, and it superbly captures the unique locales that Lara and her workforce go to all through the collection. There’s no filler in anyway, and new characters are launched, together with a reimagined model of Lara’s pal Zip (Allen Maldonado) and Lara’s estranged childhood greatest pal Camilla Roth (Zoe Boyle), who match completely into the collection’ narrative whereas additionally bringing an additional layer of emotional depth.

‘The Legend of Lara Croft’ Introduces a Compelling New Villain

Perhaps one of the best belongings to The Legend of Lara Croft is the introduction of a brand new adversary to Lara Croft: Charles Devereaux, a rival archeologist who’s way more complicated than meets the attention. When Lara first meets Devereaux, he makes an attempt to control her, claiming that he desires to get a maintain of the Peril Stones to cease a harmful cult threatening to finish humanity. While Lara is rapidly capable of see via the facade, the character is portrayed in a method that, whereas we’d not agree together with his choices, it is simple to grasp his motives. Armitage does a stellar job of offering the villain with a menacing but additionally unusually charismatic voice, making him all of the extra memorable.

Atwell’s casting because the voice of Lara Croft is one other sturdy addition to the forged. While it was initially disappointing to study that voice actress Camilla Luddington wouldn’t be reprising the position from the Survivor Trilogy, Atwell nonetheless manages to seize the spirit of the character, and the recasting is rarely as soon as distracting. Boyle’s Camilla Roth is a powerful addition as effectively, and her relationship with Lara is one of the most important highlights. The collection does a terrific job of establishing their friendship, what brought on the rift between the 2, and the sisterhood (and probably a possible romance) between them. She’s the type of character that we will solely hope will stick round and pop up in future installments, be it in a second season or the subsequent online game.

Some followers of the franchise could be fast to make the criticism that they might quite have one other online game installment, quite than a tv collection, however The Legend of Lara Croft seamlessly captures the tone and the world that made the Survivor Trilogy so efficient within the first place. It gives us with a fascinating new journey, thrilling new characters, a lot of motion, and, of course, as a lot tomb raiding as you would ever hope for.

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft delivers a satisfying and emotional journey whereas we anxiously await the subsequent online game.

Pros

• Charles Deveraux is one of the franchise’s most memorable villains to this point.
• Despite being in a special medium, The Legend of Lara Croft nonetheless manages to maintain the stakes excessive.
• Lara and Camilla’s relationship provides an additional layer of emotion to the journey.

Cons

• The collection has a gradual begin in its first episode earlier than choosing up within the remaining episodes.

Watch on Netflix